 My faith, my culture, and the Nigerian politics. Faith, culture, and politics are inextricably linked. Karl Marx, a popular scholar, elucidated the relationship between superstructure and the economic structural base in this model of society. He had defined the base as the way society produces what is needed to survive. Marx maintained that substructure determines superstructure. But the Noendo of Marx's post-religionary view that faith, culture, and politics are vehicles of exploitation. In the last 200 years, Christianity, Islam, and chauvinism were doctrines that govern and direct their fears of men. These doctrines created beliefs that have promoted belligerent faiths and nationalism known today as fundamentalism and parochialism. Against cospitalism, the culture of impunity embedded in capitalism are religious jingoism, as destroyed communalism in culture that African societies were built for. It is pertinent to say that religion was used as an instrument of subjugation and economic slavery, slash colonization, colonizing, to subdue Africans who were known to be warriors, communal and traditionalists wielding supernatural powers. These are forefathers. This is not to demonize any religious faiths, but are realities with the mechanization of a geographical positioning and position of a communal life. The replacement of our culture and beliefs with borrowed faith has introduced a societal poem that is known today as Dying and Smiling, which is like Sweat is Invisible in Rain, a popular phrase coined by Professor Tony Vagran. As a result of this, the culture of accountability, probability, engagement and confrontation that African people were known for have been relegated to the background because of phrase like Biblical injunction of Romans 13 verse one that says, let everyone subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. Religion has so polluted our culture and political responsibility to a point it has led to political apathy, as well as many ambiguous and eccentric decrees that are giving room to governments, against total back and forth policies and actions that has impoverished us the more. Why phrases like touching on man and noy tapes or a child of God does not fight? We forgot that even religion was taken out of the world through war. How come we expect our freedom to be achieved through peace? Today, our worship centers deemed sacred have been turned to campaign grounds for politicians that are willing to support the work of God. Below are questions playing in my head. I'm hoping I will find some comfort in the minds of my co-discussing during the debate. What stops us from having the Nigerian version of English like Pigeon that everyone can understand? Either they went to Briegra school or not, respect of the tribe. Why are we afraid to discuss the divisibility or indivisibility of Nigeria as of today? What is the priority of Nigeria as a nation? What religion or cultural beliefs, you know? And I do not count, you know, how did we lose history so fast and why did we allow our religious and political elites to realize our history? In closing, I believe in the superiority of rational thoughts over emotions as well as the ability of knowledge and science in solving human problems. What are cultural and traditional must be brought here in resetting our national priorities? Better should our freedom be a subject of emotion. That's it. Great paper put in by Samson and I think it's very intelligent. I think one of the core problems we've always had is that I think when the Europeans came into Africa, they used religion as a weapon. And what's most funny is that they got religion and education from Africa, but they weaponized it and used it against us. And it's very, very funny to even note that women used to be highly respected in Africa. We had the Queen Aminas, we had people close to the Oni of Ife, women that were very strong and worked with the Oni closely. So we've always respected gender in Africa, though we were thought to think that we do not understand it. For me, Nigeria must create its own identity and forge forward thinking properly and redirecting based on our own principle. I'm one of those that's a proponent of saying, well, we must end payments for pilgrimages if we're not paying a cross for everybody plus if our worshipers are cool because we're a secular state, not a bireligious state. Second, paging can unify Nigeria. We need an identity. Exactly. Thank you. And I was going to, I actually mapped that out about language, basically unification of the country by language, because I know for instance, a country like Rwanda where they have only one language that is very, very predominant, the Kenyar-Rwanda language. So even where you come, there is nothing that divides people. You just get to identify people based on only one thing. So there is nothing like you are Yoruba. And you know, when we actually identify people based on a particular divide, psychologically, it shapes how we begin to deal with them from that very minute. So this person says I'm from a foreign state. This person says I'm from Lagos state. Even if you don't know unconsciously, just find yourself relating to this person in a particular way and another person in a particular way. I really think that the paging language, if it is actually, of course, again, it's the actionable part that is actually the problem. But then it's a very, very vital point that you mentioned. And then they touched not my anointed part. It was very, very funny, you know? Everybody was, even Mr. Makaroni was like, ah, touched not my anointed part. Yeah, it's true because that's the fear. That's how they have been able to silence people and check those of us that would rather have different opinions. When you say that someone, when you use that phrase and you say touched not my anointed part, that means you cannot question the person. You cannot give opinions that are contrary to what the person is saying. So he puts that person in a position of whatever the person does goes. And we need to come in. I know that has been a problem because at some point we no longer question certain things, even if they are against our personal conviction and opinion because it's coming from this. So, of course, Mr. Makaroni, I would always say, touched by account number. But every time the state has been in love with religion or religion has been interfaced with the state, what has happened has always been the crusades or something disastrous. You know, it's unifying state power with religious power. It's one of the most dangerous things that can ever happen. For me, if we are to move Nigeria forward, first, diverse that. Another thing that can save Nigeria have always been a proponent and state of origin, state of residence. If we start state of residence, a chika can come from Kano, a musa can come from Legos, a shagun can come from Enugu. And once that happens, they can also take political positions. It would diversify Nigeria. That's what America uses as its strength. Hillary Clinton was not born in New York, but she became a senator in New York because she's lived there most of her life. So I think we, being honest, we must learn to use our culture to whatever strength we can so that we can develop this country. There's nothing like Nigeria. More than 250 ethnic groups in one territorial boundary, but what we don't have is we have not created an ideology which is what drives the nation. I agree with you, Mr. Mokroni. You want to say something on that? Yeah, you know, it's pretty much like what I said earlier. Religion for me is, if not the most powerful weapon, or should I say tool, you see the hold that religious leaders have on their followers is very strong. You find people that cannot even, you find people engage with their religious leaders rather than people around them. If something happens to someone, you'll be shocked that some people, they won't talk to their husbands, they won't talk to their wives. They will go to their pastor. And when the religious leader says, this is what you should do, the person will do it. They get to do it. So imagine that type of platform and then a political person, a governor, whatever it is, comes to that setting. And the religious leader is raising the hand of that person up and saying, this is the person that God has shown to me that will move the people. Even though he's not the will of the people. What do you expect? So now you're religion and imposed politics on the people. A particular church. I have doctors that attend that church. When I saw the doctor's position on COVID, I was hurt. These are trained medical doctors, but they are loud religion for me, for me, for me, for me, for me. Ignorant. And it's bad. You know, most people will say, ah, you're trying to stop God's work. I don't think it was God's intention to turn man into a robot. Because if you wanted to do that, you would have just kept all of us in one place and be giving others. But he's giving us free will. And he said the one, the difference between man and other animals is that he has given us free will. I don't think religion on any parameter be it in Northern Nigeria or Southern Nigeria should be a parameter to judge how man lives or man works. We've seen Arabian countries take themselves to the next level. And that is because they opened their borders beyond religious extremism. And the truth is, as much as Nigerians will say, it's what we call one religion extremist. I believe another religion, extremist, is just that they wear suits while being extremists. Another thing is what also baffled me is that all the people that are the politics, the people in the politics space as it were, are also all encapsulated inside this religious stuff. And so when you now begin to also look at how effective politics is working, you're now wondering what exactly are they learning from the religious space? Because most of all these politicians belong to one or two religious settings again. Of course now, it is for the grass roots people. How do you know that? Now the poor man, the career for them. No, truthfully, because they use them, those ones, you know, because they are less privileged, they would, whatever you'd say, they would accept. But these people from this religion, that religion, in their corners, they are all friends. They are all friends. They are all friends. That's a good one. Let me be honest. Politicians have found out one thing and this is a hard thing to say, but it's the truth. Politicians have found out one thing. If they delivered governance, nobody would go to church. I'm sure the church is even on this. Because if governance were fine, nobody would go to church almost. Because most of the people go to church almost for financial gain, for promotion, or for desire or something. They want to advance. Things are not working. The moment those so-called miracles are present, you will find out in the novel of 1860. They need the anointing to be touched. They need the anointing to be touched. We were saying this before. I went to a state just last week and for every bus stop, I see a signpost. So a state is in the hands of God. I don't understand what that means. So the other state is in the hands of God. So that means what that thing is just doing is, the government in that state is saying that anything that happens, is not a bad thing. You know a friend asked me that question two days ago about a particular state where there is problem and it does not mean that this state is also in the hands of God at this point. Basically, I think if you look at it, religious leaders have more to do on this particular topic. So after the break, we're going to take a quick break now. And after the break, I'll be talking about how our humanity, as a people is being politicized. Stay with us.